It has been 2 weeks since the the 0.4 update of Darkmorrow Arena. I'm happy with how it went! I also got some really good feedback, in terms of game balance and story direction.

I think there was one big issue, which is that the new store system was pretty unfair for a Rogue-like game that keeps pushing you forward. Therefore, in version 0.4i, I reverted the store system back to what it was in 0.3.

For version 0.5, here are what I mainly aim to achieve:

1. 3 more outfits, and another set of lingerie, along with their lingerie variations.
2. 15 new scenes, 5 for each NPC.

Furthermore, here are some great ideas I've received. I can't promise if they will be in the next version, or if they will ever make it into the game. But I like the ideas, and they are on my to-do list.

1. Rogue-lite system: In this system, after you die, you can earn some global points, lets call them "Destiny Points". These Destiny Points can be used to upgrade your next character. This way, even if you die, it won't feel like a total loss. You'll have made some progress for your next playthrough.
2. Add a Bar: My original plan was that during the night, you can rest to heal, entertain an NPC for some benefit, or visit a bar to get some random event. The last part was never implemented, and it's not really thoroughly designed yet. But it could be a way to gain fate stones or info on opponents without visiting NPCs. Or, it might give you a chance to gain extra coin or random items. Or, it might have some interesting scenes. These could reflect how your character is doing so far in the story, too. The trade off is that you won't have much control over what outcome you get, unlike spending time with the NPCs.
3. Tweak balance and gameplay: I'm not entirely happy with the game balance, yet. The feeling I get is that because you start unarmoured, it's easy to train for that, and then lock yourself out of the other armour types. I might tone down the price of armoured equipment, to make them more accessible. I also want to tweak the shop to offer more items that the player can actually use. This means, the shop should offer less outfits that the main character cannot use yet, because of her lewdness. It should also offer less items that cost like 5000 coins, when the player only has 200. The game should still offer some of these items, just to show the player what is out there. But not so much that it really hinders the main character's growth.
4. Better UI and more info for the player: I also want to make it more clear in the game, that different items get mods at different rates, such as spears being more likely to get elemental damage. It's in the game info section, but it's not super clear.

That's about it!

I'm also prototyping and designing a few other game ideas. Some of them already have some art done! I'll share some screenshots next time. =)

Hurray! I know it took a while. Sorry about that! Just had a lot of real life stuff to sort out. :)

We are proud to present the next version of Darkmorrow Arena!

Here are the Change Notes:

1. 30 new outfit pieces; adventurer's outfit, hunter's outfit, raider's outfit, strapless bras, and thongs.
2. 15 new scenes; 5 phase 2 scenes for Arena Master, Merchant and Combat Trainer each.
3. New ending system. Now the game never ends on it's own. You can end the game from your room.
4. New Difficulty System (Easy, Medium, Hard)
5. Lots of changes to the UI.
6. Erotic Scene number displays before a scene plays. Erotic Scenes now also have a skip button.
7. New Settings options, including size of text.
8. Added Music and Sound Effects.
9. Added adjustments to equipment prices and game balance.
10. Added a dedicated Credits Screen.

Cheers!

Please try it out and let me know what you think! Thanks!

Change Notes:

1. Added main character training. The main character can now train during the day to gain permanent bonuses.
2. Added opponent training. Higher ranking opponents can have powerful skills that enhance particular stats or help them counter certain styles. This can be found out before the fight occurs and worked around by the main character.
3. Added 5 new scenes for a new character, The Combat Trainer.
4. Added a Help section. This can be found in your room. It explains many of the stats and mechanics in the game.
5. Item crafting now gives 3 unique upgrade options. Duplicates will no longer occur.
6. Added note to meeting Arena Master at night, stating that visiting him again will give you a bonus against the next opponent.
7. Fixes and improvements to language (spelling, articulation, colors, etc).

Moving is complete, and I have internet again. :)

I finished coding version 0.3 of Darkmorrow Arena. We are testing it right now. All going well, I hope to release the game in about a week!

Here are the tentative release notes:

Major Changes:

• Added main character training. The main character can now train during the day to gain permanent bonuses.
• Added opponent training. Higher ranking opponents can have powerful skills that enhance particular stats or help them counter certain styles. This can be found out before the fight occurs and worked around by the main character.
• Added 5 new scenes for a new character, The Combat Trainer.
• Added a Help section. This can be found in your room. It explains many of the stats and mechanics in the game.

Minor Changes:

• Item crafting now gives 3 unique upgrade options. Duplicates will no longer occur.
• Added note to meeting Arena Master at night, stating that visiting him again will give you a bonus against the next opponent.
• Fixes and improvements to language (spelling, articulation, colors, etc).

Cheers!

Hi All,

I haven't made much progress, mainly because we are moving to a new house, soon.

That being said, I want to set myself a deadline, and see how well I do at sticking to it!

I plan to release 0.3 of Darkmorrow Arena on August 31, which is a Saturday.

This means it should be coding complete by August 24, so that there is time to test, upload and post links.

Let's see how I do. The game is already halfway done, and I should be able to pick up development again on the 3rd, or so!

Cheers!

Hi, I wanted to give an update on Darkmorrow Arena. For version 0.3, I have 4 things planned:

1. Combat Training - 80%
2. Opponent Training - 25%
3. Help Menu - 10%
4. Scenes for Combat Trainer - 75%

On top of that, I'll also add some quality of life fixes and typo fixes, thanks to all the helpful feedback! :)

Opponent Training:

I really want to talk about this idea, and get your feedback on it. There are 5 difficulty levels of opponents, from weak slaves to powerful legends of the arena. I'm planning to give higher ranking opponents "Opponent Training". Bandits will have 1, Mercenaries will have 2, and so on.

Each Opponent Training gives the opponent a powerful situational bonus. One opponent might have bonus fire damage and fire resistance. Another will easily dodge and mitigate damage from axes. Then another might brutally hit and damage you if you use shields.

These bonuses can be found out before the fight takes place, so you should be able to prepare for it. I don't want this system to be unfair. Instead, I hope this system will be counter-able for the player, in a rewarding way. For example, if you find out your next opponent is strong against people using spears, you might switch your spear for a sword.

Hope that makes sense! Cheers!

So, I'm super happy about how it turned out! I really appreciate all the feedback! They have been really constructive, and it helps me think about where to go next.

For Darkmorrow Arena, the next step is to finish the combat training system. That should take us about a month, or so. After that, the game should be feature complete, and just need more content. By content, I mean more enemies, items, scenes, art and general polish. I also plan to add help menus to better explain the different stats and mechanics.

I appreciate all of your feedback! Please keep them coming!

Thanks for trying out our game! Cheers!

I'm a games enthusiast. I'm also an erotica enthusiast. So, I'm like, "Why can't we have both together?!"

My goal is to make cool games that have some sexual tension, and also some engaging gameplay. I think the game that did it the best was the original Witcher game. It was a full on RPG. But there was also a lot of unapologetic sex and romance.

For me, this is a work of passion. I hope you enjoy it!